Robert Ward

Principal, Jeannik Méquet Littlefield Chair

Robert Ward joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1980 and is Principal Horn, occupying the Jeannik Méquet Littlefield Chair. He made his solo debut with the Orchestra in 1982 in Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 4. A native of Schenectady, New York, he received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music in 1977, studying with Robert Fries. Mr. Ward was previously a member of the Atlantic Symphony of Halifax, Nova Scotia (now known as Symphony Nova Scotia), and also played for one year with the Denver Symphony (now the Colorado Symphony). Mr. Ward has appeared at the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Peninsula Music Festival in Door County, Wisconsin, and the Colorado Music Festival. At Tanglewood, he gave the world premiere of Avram David's Sonata for Solo Horn and received the C.D. Jackson Master Award and the Harry Shapiro Award for outstanding brass player.

A founding member of the symphonic brass group, the Bay Brass, Mr. Ward has also engaged in a number of recording activities, making music with such diverse performers as Paul McCandless, Spencer Brewer, Ed Bogas, Raquel Bitton, Lisa Vroman, and Metallica. He can be heard on several movie soundtracks, including Spy Kids, Mars Attacks, Inspector Gadget, and Ricochet. Mr. Ward is also a composer and arranger, and his Quartet for Horns was given its premiere at the International Horn Society Conference in Eugene, Oregon in 1996. His Sound of the Sea and And All the Sea Sang for chorus and solo horn have been performed with the San Francisco Choral Artists.

Mr. Ward serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of California at Berkeley. He has also taught at Dalhousie University, Acadia University, and San Francisco State University. He is currently revising his first novel and also maintains an interest in genealogy.